The Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The prize was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund based in New York City with the concurrence of the Philippine government. It is often called the "Nobel Prize of Asia".
Abdul Sattar EdhiNI LPP was a Pakistani humanitarian, philanthropist and ascetic who founded the Edhi Foundation, which runs the world's largest ambulance network, along with homeless shelters, animal shelters, rehabilitation centres, and orphanages across Pakistan.
Bilquis Bano Edhi was a Pakistani nurse who helped save the lives of over 16,000 children. During her career as a nurse and marriage to Abdul Sattar Edhi, she was one of the most active philanthropists in Pakistan. She was the co-chair of the Edhi Foundation, a charity organization that provided many services in Pakistan including a hospital and emergency service in Karachi. For her contributions, she was awarded the 1986 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service and the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice in 2015. She was also a recipient of Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's second highest civilian honour. For her service to the country, she was also referred to as The Mother of Pakistan.
Jeffrey Stuart Skoll is a Canadian engineer, billionaire internet entrepreneur and film producer. He was the first president of eBay, eventually using the wealth this gave him to become a philanthropist, particularly through the Skoll Foundation, and his media company Participant Media. He founded an investment firm, Capricorn Investment Group, soon after and currently serves as its chairman. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he graduated from University of Toronto in 1987 and left Canada to attend Stanford University's business school in 1993.
Ela Ramesh Bhatt was an Indian cooperative organiser, activist and Gandhian, who founded the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) in 1972, and served as its general secretary from 1972 to 1996. She was the chancellor of the Gujarat Vidyapith from 7 March 2015 to 19 October 2022. A lawyer by training, Bhatt was a part of the international labour, cooperative, women, and micro-finance movements and won several national and international awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (1977), Right Livelihood Award (1984) for "helping home-based producers to organise for their welfare and self-respect" and the Padma Bhushan (1986).
Jon Ungphakorn is a London-born Thai non-governmental organization (NGO) executive and former member of the Senate of Thailand (2000–2006).
Lawrence Brilliant is an American epidemiologist, technologist, philanthropist, and author, who worked with the World Health Organization from 1973–1976 helping to successfully eradicate smallpox.
Bantva, or Bantwa, is a small town in Saurashtra region of the state of Gujarat in India.
Tahrunessa Ahmed Abdullah is a Bangladeshi writer and activist. She is notable for her researches and contribution to improve the lives of women in rural Bangladesh through her various levels of involvement with Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development. In 1978, she became the first Bangladeshi to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in the community leadership category.
Mahabir Pun is a Nepali researcher, teacher, social entrepreneur and an activist known for his work in applying wireless technologies to develop remote areas of the Himalayas, also known as the Nepal Wireless Networking Project. He is a widely known figure in Nepal, and his work has been recognised by the Ashoka Foundation, the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation, University of Nebraska at Kearney, and Global Ideas Bank.
Zafrullah Chowdhury was a Bangladeshi public health activist.
Bharat Dutta Koirala, the winner of the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts, is one of the most prominent senior journalists of Nepal with a professional career of over four decades. He started his career in journalism as the chief reporter of The Rising Nepal in 1965 and became editor of Gorkhapatra and executive chairman and general manager of Gorkhapatra Corporation. He is also the founder of many organizations such as Nepal Press Institute, Nepal Forum for Environmental Journalist, Media Services International, and Radio Sagarmatha, the first independent private FM radio station. Awarded the Knight International Press Fellowship Award by the International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C. and the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation in Manila, Philippines, he also pioneered the publication of a Nepalese Wall Newspaper, and is credited with introducing reporting on development of rural Nepal. Presently, he is the Secretary General of Nepal Press Institute, Chairman of Media Services International, and Chairman of Himal Association. He is a prominent media teacher in Nepal who produces many professional journalists.
Chung To is a Chinese AIDS activist. He founded the Chi Heng Foundation (CHF) in 1998, which primarily serves AIDS orphans in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Florence Danon-Gayda, better known as Rosa Rosal, is a FAMAS award-winning Filipina film actress dubbed as the "original femme fatale of Philippine cinema." She is also known for her work with the Philippine Red Cross. For her humanitarian activities, she received the 1999 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service, an award widely considered as Asia's Nobel Prize. She is the mother of TV host Toni Rose Gayda.
Syed Adeebul Hasan Rizvi is a Pakistani philanthropist, doctor, Renal transplant surgeon and founder of the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), the largest kidney transplant centre in Pakistan. This institute is affiliated with the nearby Civil Hospital, Karachi.
Sanduk Ruit is an ophthalmologist from Nepal who was involved to restore the sight of over 180,000 people across Africa and Asia using small-incision cataract surgery.
Muhammad Ramzan Chhipa is a Pakistani philanthropist and social worker based in Karachi, Pakistan.
Muhammad Amjad Saqib, is a Pakistani social entrepreneur, development practitioner, former civil servant and author. He is the founder and executive director of Akhuwat Foundation, which is the world's largest Islamic microfinance organization that provides interest-free loans to the most deserving segments of society.
Howard Q. Dee was a Filipino businessman, philanthropist, and diplomat.
Osman Kassim is a Sri Lankan entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is regarded as the prominent pioneer of Islamic finance in Sri Lanka. He was also the founder chairman of Amana Bank PLC.
